SINGAPORE (Mar 4): It is 8.30am, and Adeline Sim, executive director of HRnetGroup, and her colleagues are gathered in the lobby of their office for a 20-minute daily exercise-and-meditation qigong routine, which helps keep the staff happy and healthy.
This morning routine is not HRnetGroup’s only unique practice. Companywide internal meetings are held on Saturdays, something that is avoided by most firms on a five-day work week. Besides fostering camaraderie, there is a practical reason for doing so. “Mondays to Fridays are the golden time for us to meet clients and call [job] candidates,” explains Sim, who has been running the company since 2003.
Such practices have helped HRnetGroup expand to 30 entities worldwide, including in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. It is the largest Asia-based recruitment agency in Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan). Its brands include HRNetOne, Recruit Express, PeopleSearch and RecruitFirst.